Wines and beers in Calais

 
Wine stores in Calais and Cité Europe  
Bar a Vins
wine store not far from Calais market on  Wednesday and Saturday morning. There is a supermarket in the market square.

Calais Vins
wine warehouse outside central Calais.


Intercaves
near the harbour, is a genuine
French cave.
Open, Tues-Sat 09.30-12.30 & 14.30-19.30; Sun 10.00-12.30
If you want good cheap wine, buy a ten litre container from the cave and bottle it yourself, you can design your own label.
La Maison Du Fromage
cheese and wine shop in the Centre of town.
 
 

Don't store wines unless they are worth saving, not all wines improve with age. Most wines however benefit from being allowed to breathe for half an hour, especially the cheaper ones.
"Vin Ordinaire" means ordinary wine, "Vin de table" means table wine, "Vin de Pays" means regional wine.
Good quality wines have a region and a year.

French wines and
their regions:

French wine
tours

Wine guide
Alsace
In the Alsace, contrary to other wine regions, it is the grape variety that decides the name on the label.
Bordeaux
Britain became an armed maritime nation protecting wine cargoes travelling from the Bordeaux region, from pirates off the coast of Brittany.
Burgundy
Burgandy is the home of the classic chardonnay.
Champagne
The most northerly vineyards in France, the champagne region covers the departments of the Marne, The Aisne, the Aube.
Gamay
The only grape allowed in Beaujolais is the Gamay. Gamay can improve with age.
Minervois
In 1985, the French wine authority -- the AOC granted Minervois an appellation. This meant a new beginning for the region.
Mont Ventoux
You can buy Mont ventoux wines at the end of a hair raising drive up the mountain, the view makes it all worthwhile.
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine
Muscadet is produced in 4 wine terroirs around the city of Nantes. The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine is the most important and the best.
The Rhone Valley
The Rhone Valley has always been the ideal route between the Mediterranean and northern Europe, and produces good quality, good value wines.
Sancerre
Sancerre, the classic wine bar white wine, is across the river Loire from Pouilly.
Vacqueyras
Vacqueyras is a small village not far from chateauneuf du pape. Vacqueyras has a co-operative. This means that the farmers deliver their grapes to the depot where it is assessed and graded. They are paid according to the assessment. You can buy from the co-operative.
New world wines
Australia
Australia's first vineyards were planted in 1788 in a small area near the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
California
Spanish missionaries introduced winemaking to California from Mexico.
Chile
With French vines and expertise, matched to Chile's excellent natural conditions, the country's wine industry has made a tremendous leap in quality.
South Africa
Constantia is the Historical region that's tucked away in the smart southern suburbs of Cape Town where the first vineyards were planted in South Africa.
Lebanon
Lebanon is one of the oldest sites of wine production in the world. French influence on the country is apparent in the grape varieties most commonly planted: Cinsaut, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah.
New Zealand
For a New Zealand grape wine to be eligible for export, it must meet the requirements of the New Zealand Wine Act 2003,
Europe
Germany
Each of Germany’s 13 winegrowing regions has a slightly different climatic and geological makeup.
Italy
Italy produces  and exports more than any other country.
Spain
Rioja received DOCa status.